Mountain Lions: Who's seen one?

I saw one once, in a cage kept as a pet in Costa Rica. Actually got in the cage and petted it. I've never seen one in the wild, having spent a fair amount of my life in the woods as a hunter (not any longer) and mountain biker/hiker etc.

In 2006 after the 12-hour race in Weaverville around dusk I was riding passenger with a couple friends back to our campground. We were really close to camp, probably less than 1/2 a mile on the little entrance road which is also a residential street. A huge mountain lion ran across the road about 100 yards in front of us. I had never seen one before so I had no idea what it was and I swear it was so big it looked like it took up the entire width of the road. The driver had seen a few of them before and knew it was a mountain lion. It made for a nervous bedtime back at camp but it was one of the most beautiful creatures I have ever seen and I still feel so grateful to have gotten close to one.

I spend a lot of time in the mountains. I've seen just about every mammal on the continent but have never seen a mtn lion. I've come across fresh kills and dens but no lion. I've been in very close proximity to grizzlies and assume lions but they elude being seen.

My buddies saw a large one last summer on St Helens that ran just in front of them. I was in front of them and missed it. They were all charged up when we got the bottom so it must be an intense experience. One day...maybe.

It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.

Twice, and both in same day. I believe it was the same cat. Had a phone but was in no position to pull it out and start snapping photos. Then, it wasn't really a thing and a selfie didn't sound fun for me.

Got home in about 20 minutes, ate lunch, about an hour later I jumped on my moto to do a stroll around this other neighborhood where there were some off the path roads I could go explore. This area is 2.3 miles from first sighting. The timing is dead on if it was in fact the same lion. They travel far at 10mph. If I think about the path it took it all makes sense. It had to cross highway 50 to get where I was when I saw it (or another possibly) again. There are water pipes under the freeway i'm told they frequently use to cross under hwy.

I was gazing at these huge homes, idling speed, chickens, goats, and other animals at these huge ranch homes. Then I see a cat run across in front of me maybe 20 yards away, down a hillside. I was BAFFLED! I was like WTF, not one hour ago I see one on my mtn bike.

Called my game warden friend and he informed me they do track some in that area, and go exactly where I was both times. That path I figure they travel, they have tracks of lions going back and forth there daily, lol. Residents also report sightings often.

FFWD to earlier this year I was riding Georgetown, behind two others who stopped and saw one - I just missed it. I know I've been seen by lions dozens of times. Lately it's been bothering me especially with the recent story in WA. I don't worry too much as I know they're probably as scared of me on a bike - but I don't really want to ride alone much more in areas they're more active in, more remote areas, as i've done many times.

I haven't had the pleasure, but I see thousands of poops up and down the coast of California, especially on Montara Mountain and the Tamarancho area. They sun-bleach to a silvery-gray, and are large and segmented. Often hairy. Sometimes I sit and have a beer there, because they seem to pick spots with commanding views.

I haven't had the pleasure, but I see thousands of poops up and down the coast of California, especially on Montara Mountain and the Tamarancho area. They sun-bleach to a silvery-gray, and are large and segmented. Often hairy. Sometimes I sit and have a beer there, because they seem to pick spots with commanding views.

Yup. Seen them. And about half a dozen deer kill too. Some fresher than others.

I one follows the Puma Project site, we see that they are right there on the trails and hillsides. Always been there, always will... if we don't muck it up.

Was lucky enough to see one attack and take a deer just across the river from us when fishing McCloud last year. One of the coolest things Ive ever seen. Deer was squealing like a pig and the lion was making angry cat noises. Neck in mouth, it stopped, looked over straight at us for what felt like a minute but was probably 5 seconds...then backed up dragging the deer up the hillside. We GTFO. nibble nibble.

China Camp, bayview trail, about 6:30am, this january. i was kind of just cruising up the climb, and for those of you that have ridden it, i was in the canopy area right before the picnic bench, and i heard a rustling like a squirrel usually makes, and i looked up to see a mountain lion just standing there 10 feet away. i stopped and it just stared at me, must have been like 30 seconds but it felt like an hour. neither of us moved a muscle. Then, it simply just continued down the side of the trail, and it was gone. I didn't even want to finish my ride, i just turned around and left. 10/10 would not recommend. i've never been that terrified.

Iíve seen two with one a week ago while climbing up the paved section of Clementine Road in Auburn. It was a medium sized mountain lion and it ran across the road 50 yards ahead of me. It jumped about 20í up the right embankment in one big leap! So powerful....

The other sighting was during the Weaverville 9 to 5 race about 5 years ago. A very large lion crossed the course between me and a fellow racer ahead.

Iíve found recent tracks on the north fork of Folsom Lake near Sterling Point. I live near there and we have a resident lion around but I have yet to see this one. Theyíre out there and hopefully none become like the whack-job lion east of Seattle🙀

I have seen 2. One on the Arnold Rim Trail. I saw the other one at dusk where the Rim trail parallels the creek to White Pines. It was stalking a deer drinking from the creek and I came up behind it. Once It heard me the cat went after the deer and I never saw if it got it nor not. At that point I realized there is no way I would have been able to get away from it. Fast, stealth and big.

I saw one about 9 years ago on the fire road that runs through the Sunol Regional Wilderness. I was with my two boys (age 4 & 7). We were luckily about 1/4 mile away from the mountain lion on one crest of the road with the mountain lion on the next crest in the road. For about 30 seconds, I tried to convince myself it was a bobcat, but realized that with the long tail , the cat we were watching was definitely a mountain lion. I told my kids to take a good look because they might never see one again, picked up my younger son, and turned back the way we came from the park entrance.

Way back in the 70s I and some friends saw one up on the by the Novitiate Winery in Gatos. We came up the side of a small ravine we had followed up a creek and surprised it (I think) out in a meadow. It ran like a bat out of hell the other way. Long tail, definitely not a bobcat.

I'm here to kick ass and drink beer. Looks like we're all out of beer. -- Gandhi

Once, on a night ride near SLO in 2011 or 2012. I had just gotten onto pavement at around 10pm, and had a vintage MagicShine on my helmet (remember those?!). It was a slight descent so I was going about 20mph, and it was on the right side of the road maybe 100 yards in front of me. The lion looked at me with a deer-in-the-headlights look, unsure what this large creature buzzing toward it with a bright light was. In one leap, it was in the center of the one-lane road, and in another it was on the slope on the other side and gone into the night. The power and fluidity of its motion was spectacular and something I will never forget. I never felt afraid, probably because it happened so fast.

A few years ago, my dad saw one at dusk on Steven's Canyon Trail. From how he described it to me, he came around a turn and it was just standing in the middle of the fireroad in front of him. Not able or wanting to slow down, he "steered toward the dull end of the cat" and it jumped out of his way and he kept sprinting down the trail.

China Camp, bayview trail, about 6:30am, this january. i was kind of just cruising up the climb, and for those of you that have ridden it, i was in the canopy area right before the picnic bench

Crazy, I live right near there and ride that trail on average 1-2x a week for the last 14 years but have never seen signs of one. One of my neighbors said she saw one near a deer kill in her backyard a year or two ago. That's less than 2 miles from where you saw one. There are occasional reports in our neighborhood but I always take those with a grain of salt...

There's some organization that has been tracking mountain lions in Marin and Sonoma. Here's a map of some sightings:

Most recent was 2 months ago. Riding back to Hunting Hollow parking lot at the end of our weekly night ride on Gilroy Hot Springs. Saw it for about 3-4 seconds crossing the road and climbing the steep hillside. Had seen one on that road 4 years prior maybe a mile from there.

Had 2 separate sightings during the summer 2015. One was at dusk coming down Cross Canyon towards Grapevine. Had some really loud brakes that day. Saw the mtn lion running across Coit Spring Rd as I'm making it down, brakes screeching, on the steepest portion of the trail.

That same year during the yearly HC100, had one in the dark just laying down on Wagon Rd right by Center Flats. I stopped as soon as I picked up what it was. Once stopped, he looked at me for a minute or so before starting to walk slowly on the trail going away from me, same direction I was heading. I waited another 5 minutes, trying to decided if I should alter my route some but in the end decided that I should not let fear get a hold of me and kept going. That night, between the people riding the course and the various friends supporting, we had 3 separate sightings.

One afternoon ,around 8 or 9 years ago riding the Nimitz (paved) trail in Wildcat canyon/Tilden park on the last uphill before it turns to dirt ,there a man and a girl standing there looking up the side of the hill. As I was riding by ,I asked what they were looking at,they said a mountain lion ,so I look and there it was lying in the grass. Stopped and looked for a few minutes,finished climbing hill . A year or two later I was going down Havey Canyon on the fast section past the hike a bike ravine ,when one bounded across in front of me about 100 yards. Two or three years later ,I was had turned up Havey and saw a Bobcat ,I was doing a short ride so I turned around at the ravine ,came back down turned on to the creek trail and saw it again.

Crazy, I live right near there and ride that trail on average 1-2x a week for the last 14 years but have never seen signs of one. One of my neighbors said she saw one near a deer kill in her backyard a year or two ago. That's less than 2 miles from where you saw one. There are occasional reports in our neighborhood but I always take those with a grain of salt...

There's some organization that has been tracking mountain lions in Marin and Sonoma. Here's a map of some sightings:

Yeah i grew up in sausalito, the last house at the top of a hill, with just the freeway and the headlands behind it. The first time i ever saw a mountain lion in person was when a smaller one ran across the road while i was driving to rodeo beach like 2 years ago, after 20 years of never seeing anything. when someone says they saw one (especially in an urban area) i usually brush it off, but seeing that one on bayview has made me a firm believer that there is one living up there. I also have been stalked by coyotes on early morning rides at China camp but they always back off once i get off my bike.

I forgot to mention, I went on a ride on mt tam monday afternoon after reading about the attack in WA, and while coming down tenderfoot my brother and I heard a mountain lion roar. Really sketched me out after reading that article so we gunned it to the bottom lol

Rare photos from Henry Coe SP

The best story I have is from my buddy Larry, another hardcore Henry Coe SP rider and volunteer. Spotted a PAIR of them stalking deers on Grizzly Gulch about 100 yard from the Rock Tower junction. Here is his account of the story, pics included!

"Ran into these two just past the Rock Tower junction on Griz. They were stalking two deer that were about 100 yards up the hill from them. The lions stared at the deer, the deer stared at me, and I stared at the lions. This lasted for over 15 minutes! Like the showdown at the end of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly! The deer eventually disappeared over the hill and the lions headed east up Griz, eventually breaking into a dead run. As for me, that was enough adrenaline for one day. I made good time back to my car."

The best story I have is from my buddy Larry, another hardcore Henry Coe SP rider and volunteer. Spotted a PAIR of them stalking deers on Grizzly Gulch about 100 yard from the Rock Tower junction. Here is his account of the story, pics included!

"Ran into these two just past the Rock Tower junction on Griz. They were stalking two deer that were about 100 yards up the hill from them. The lions stared at the deer, the deer stared at me, and I stared at the lions. This lasted for over 15 minutes! Like the showdown at the end of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly! The deer eventually disappeared over the hill and the lions headed east up Griz, eventually breaking into a dead run. As for me, that was enough adrenaline for one day. I made good time back to my car."

Was lucky enough to see one attack and take a deer just across the river from us when fishing McCloud last year. One of the coolest things Ive ever seen. Deer was squealing like a pig and the lion was making angry cat noises. Neck in mouth, it stopped, looked over straight at us for what felt like a minute but was probably 5 seconds...then backed up dragging the deer up the hillside. We GTFO. nibble nibble.

Wow, I had a similar experience some 25 years ago, down on the Conservancy land on a fishing trip.. Looked up and the big cat was sitting there across the river watching me. Eventually, it just sauntered away and disappeared into the forest. It was one of the coolest things - if they don't want you to see them, you won't.

Along the Alamitos Creek Trail (between Camden and Harry Road) I used to see mountain lions in the late summer along the singletrack that parallels the creek, and also along the singletrack that links Harry Road to the Fortini Road entrance to Santa Teresa County Park.

I have seen 3 and heard 1. My last sighting was a week ago when two youngsters passed me at 5 am while I was out riding in the dark at Browns Ranch. They passed right in front of me and ran up a boulder pile as my lights were shining on them. Once the lights were off, they stopped on the pile and turned to look at me. We made eye contact as I passed and then i said "oh chit" and slowly picked up the pace.

The first sighting or hearing was when i was living in the hills of Milpitas in '87 and one was sitting up in the trees above where a friend and I were drinking. The cat growled and scared the crap out of us to let us know that we were making too much noise I guess. I didn't realize until many years later what exactly it was that we heard.

The first was in Aug 2000, near the top of Windy Hill at Skyline, where the short Anniversary trail starts at the parking area near the outhouse. The cat and I were heading towards each other, with visibility initially blocked by a bend in the trail. When we came around the corner and met, there was 10-12 feet between us. Startled, we both stopped and stared at each other. After a few seconds, the cat abruptly headed 90 degrees off the trail and into the brush.

My other encounter was Oct 2016 in Henry Coe, riding down Grizzly Gulch tr, just below the point where Willson Peak tr drops in on rider's left. At this point, GG is low in the drainage and immediately on the right of it. Sight lines are good and I'm moving at a pretty respectable speed. All of a sudden I spot mama cat and her 4 kittens about 100 yards ahead of me, heading down the trail. A couple of seconds after I stop, mama stops and turns her head up the trail towards me. Mama stays put just long enough for the kittens to skitter off into the trees. She then proceeds to cross the drainage and head uphill in my direction at a deliberate speed, and stops at my elevation. We're now separated by the drainage and maybe 30 ft apart. After a few seconds of staring at each other, she starts hissing at me. I have no doubt that she could have bounded over to me in only a couple of seconds, so my reaction was to slowly raise my arms to look as big as possible. A few more (tense) seconds later, the hissing stops, she scampers back down the hill and disappears in the direction of the kittens. After waiting a couple more minutes, I continued that section of the ride with benefit of additional adrenaline. Taking pictures wasn't high on the priority list.

MidPen recommends that if attacked by a mtn lion, the appropriate response is to fight back. A friend of mine offered this advice: "You'd better be prepared to meet your maker." Yup; probably good advice.

MidPen recommends that if attacked by a mtn lion, the appropriate response is to fight back. A friend of mine offered this advice: "You'd better be prepared to meet your maker." Yup; probably good advice.

The best story I have is from my buddy Larry, another hardcore Henry Coe SP rider and volunteer. Spotted a PAIR of them stalking deers on Grizzly Gulch about 100 yard from the Rock Tower junction. Here is his account of the story, pics included!

"Ran into these two just past the Rock Tower junction on Griz. They were stalking two deer that were about 100 yards up the hill from them. The lions stared at the deer, the deer stared at me, and I stared at the lions. This lasted for over 15 minutes! Like the showdown at the end of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly! The deer eventually disappeared over the hill and the lions headed east up Griz, eventually breaking into a dead run. As for me, that was enough adrenaline for one day. I made good time back to my car."

Maybe I'm not remembering Larry's story quite right but as I recall those cats are the kittens and mama cougar was there too but Larry didn't get his camera out in time to catch her. Or maybe mama cougar already had a deer and Larry heard the squeals??? Regardless Grizzly Gulch seems to be a pretty good place to see a cougar at Coe. My Coe stories from what I posted on the WA thread is:

RE big kitties; I've seen 3 in Henry Coe SP in the last 5~6 years---all were getting out of my way. The one on Coit Rd I saw from my truck was a long ways off; it ran up the road a few paces and then bounded up the hill. I stopped where it had left the road and waited for a few minutes with the engine off hoping I might see or hear it (I did get out of the cab) in the mixed brush/open forest but if it was still there it had more patience than I did.

Another was crossing Grizzly Gulch Tr near a ravine and bounded up the hill the when I first saw it at about 20 yards. I was on a bike traveling in the DH direction.

The closest encounter (20', also on my bike going DH) was at a turn on Pacheco Creek Tr near Rat Springs Tr and the cat had just come up out of the creek onto the "trail" (road-width in this location) and then sped down-trail a few paces before it bounded up the hill. Absolutely gorgeous animal; its coat almost had a sheen to it. I did not stop to see if it had stopped; used my momentum to get "the hell out of Dodge." I so regret not running a GoPro that day.

My take away from those last 2 encounters whilst on a bike is that cougars move nearly silently even when going at a good clip; their foot (paw?) steps could not be heard over the sound of my tires or the wind noise at maybe 10~12 mph. (no I wasn't running noisy hub). A deer at the same speed/distance would have made all sorts noise going up the rocks or through leaves on the ground.

FWIW my GG cougar encounter was about 1/3 mile up the trail from Larry's but 3 years prior.

I grew up in the hills above Los Gatos and never saw a cougar but saw their tracks. My dad lived there for 30+ years before he saw one. In 2009 a deer was snatched right from the front yard (nobody saw this happen but I followed the drag marks into the woods and found the deer carcass (pregnant doe) partially eaten and completely covered over with grass and brush. (Remember the get "the hell out of Dodge"?)

Great thread. Much more stealth than bears. You watch the instincts of your house cat by 100. I was clearing my lot of needles last fall an a really stout Bobcat came cruising around for squirrels and was not even fazed by me. I will look for pics. I followed him around and he could care less. In regards to Mnt. Lion photos, no way, no time it happened too fast.

Great thread, Iíve never seen one. Iíve come close to seeing one on a few occasions. Years ago I was Elk hunting in the high country of Colorado. A buddy and I four wheeled in and set up camp. Totally dry out when we arrived. Went to sleep and woke up to a foot of fresh snow. Headed out on our hunt and came upon some fresh lion tracks about 100í away from our camp site. The tracks circled our site but never came in to our campsite. Talk about a chilling feeling. We never saw the cat but it put us on high alert the remaining two days of hunting.

Another time was in 1994 when a lady hiker was killed by a lion in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park east of San Diego. The day before she was killed my girlfriend and I hiked the same trail. We had hiked it several times prior without any weird feeling. This day however we both commented on how we felt someone or something was watching us. Never saw a cat but the very next day a lion chased and killed a lady. We couldnít help but wonder if we were being stalked and never knew it.

Wow, I had a similar experience some 25 years ago, down on the Conservancy land on a fishing trip.. Looked up and the big cat was sitting there across the river watching me. Eventually, it just sauntered away and disappeared into the forest. It was one of the coolest things - if they don't want you to see them, you won't.

Tswitz,
That's awesome. If you look up the "Barbless fishing podcast" there is an episode with the guy that currently lives on the Conservancy property and he talks about some big cats getting caught on the cameras there!! That is some REMOTE area!!!

Around 20 years ago, high speed fire road on Mt Lukens(SoCal), at night, I almost hit a big one. Happened so fast it was just a flash of the v-brakes and it was gone.

10 years ago, Pine Mtn, a lion with a coyote in it's mouth tumbled out of the brush onto the road 30 ft. in front of me, I yelled (screamed is more like it) and they separated and I think the coyote got away since they sort of went in different directions.

Along the Alamitos Creek Trail (between Camden and Harry Road) I used to see mountain lions in the late summer along the singletrack that parallels the creek, and also along the singletrack that links Harry Road to the Fortini Road entrance to Santa Teresa County Park.

I've seen mountain lion about a half dozen times in Almaden/San Jose, mostly in the '90s, since I'm just a visitor since then.

Sometime in the '90s, I saw a juvenille mountain lion on that same trail, between Harry Road and Fortini, something like four times in a week. That's counting seeing it while I was going past one way to run in Santa Teresa Park, and seeing presumeably the same one on the way back from the same run maybe an hour later.

My other two sightings were in Quicksilver. The first was on the New Almaden Trail at dusk. I was heading towards the McAbee entrance, and the adult mountain lion lept across the trail right in front of me, headed in the direction of the country club neighborhood below. I saw there was another mountain lion thread here not too long ago, and someone linked to a TV news clip where a couple filmed a mountain lion on about the same section of trail.

The most exciting encounter was about a decade ago in Quicksilver. I was running up the Hacienda Trail from the Mockingbird entrance with my dog about midday, maybe noon, and was just short of the first of the double peaks on the trail just before Capehorn Pass when an adult mountain lion ran up from behind me to my right, almost within arms reach. It was looking at and heading towards my dog 4 meters in front of me as it ran by me. My dog turned her head to the right and saw it, sped up a bit but just kept running. She was totally cool to seeing the mountain lion, probably thinking "Hello kitty?". The mountain lion then veered away from my dog after my dog saw it, continuing forward past my dog, and finally going off the trail through some brush ahead and to the left side. The mountain lion was running the entire encounter, so it was brief.

Saw one about 15 years ago at Whiskeytown Lake riding at dusk from Brandy Creek to Oak Bottom. I was just cresting a climb on the fire road when I saw something loping ahead of me. The distinguishing feature was the long tail. It dove off the trail. I stopped briefly and debated riding past where it dove off. I decided to press on as I had some speed to go by.. not realizing I had to come back that way climbing.. in the dark by then with a head lamp and head light.. I would of been easy pickings.

Amazing, amazing that there wasnít footage of a deer before the lion. Think you could outrun one of those? Not!

Most trail cams have a default delay of a few seconds before they activate (see my above photo of just the rear end of BTW a really big cat) so there was likely a deer (or some other animal) being chased by the cougar that first triggered the camera.

Most trail cams have a default delay of a few seconds before they activate (see my above photo of just the rear end of BTW a really big cat) so there was likely a deer (or some other animal) being chased by the cougar that first triggered the camera.

That explains it, thanks. Great cam footage by the way. My brother set up a cam in his back yard a couple of years ago out of curiosity. His yard backs up to a canyon in North County San Diego. A regular neighborhood with houses crammed together, his just happens to have a canyon separating his neighborhood from the next. Typical SoCal topography. Since setting it up heís had regular Bobcat, Coyote, deer and Roadrunner shots. Heís confirmed by their looks that there are at least 3 cats that cruise through regularly.

Originally Posted by fc

Great footage!!!!!

Think you could knife that?

With so many of them around us, if they wanted to harm us, there would be an incident every week.

Instead they want nothing to do with us so don't stress and just admire the fact that they're still around.

Yep, try to convince the general public of that after an incident like what just happened. Those that have spent many years in the wilds enjoying the outdoor hobbies of their choice and have taken the time to learn animal habitat and behavior, know the odds of seeing a mountain lion much less getting attacked by one is next to nil. Iím 56 years old and have enjoyed outdoor adventures since I was pre teen. Iíve never seen one, only signs of them. A few of my stories several posts up. Another: I was riding BLT once and came across a kill sight just on the edge of the trail. Not a carcass, just some flattened out weeds and blood and cat and deer prints. Then some drag marks through the weeds away from the kill site into the brush. I knew exactly what had just happened and instead of following the drag marks I got the hell out of there. I didnít report a lion was in the area to the rangers. Itís the lions area not ours. This lion was acting normal. Killing itís normal prey and avoiding the numerous humans that frequent that trail.

Last edited by DIRTJUNKIE; 05-24-2018 at 10:59 AM.

Originally Posted by mileslong

I passionately remove rocks and corners and other stuff I find too hard to ride.

I suppose I've been very lucky as I've seen many cats, perhaps 6 or 7.
One as a boy, probably 1977, draped over the hood of my neighbors truck in Fillmore, UT. It was shot while feeding on one of his cows.
One while bow hunting with my dad around 1978.
One in 2016 ran across highway 4 in Avery and jumped about 15 feet high to the top of an embankment. That was a stunning sight.
Sweeny Ridge, around 2008.
One in Edgewood Park in redwood City around 2005 just sitting there watching all the hikers from a little outcrop.
The craziest sighting I ever had was around 1999 when riding up through the pigmy forest near Pine Mountain, I just caught a glimpse of it running away. A quite relieved woman, crying and shaking with fear said it had stalked her for about 15 minutes before we came along.

Twice....but in SoCal though. The 1st was in 2003 at Whiting Ranch less than (2) weeks before Mark Reynolds was killed there and Anne Hjelle was attacked on January 8, 2004. I was riding solo and was just coming over the Crest at Four Corners (Reynolds was killed on the Cactus Hill Trail to my left) when I saw a large mountain lion strolling down the hill away from me down Whiting Road. I don't know if the cat saw me. I waited for a couple other riders to come up and then we rode down together in a pack, making loud motorcycle noised as we went. About 1/4 mile from our exit at Portola Pkwy, we saw a/the female mountain lion with (2) cubs in a half jog going into some bushes off to the left as we went right.

The 2nd time was riding in the canyon between Lake Hodges and Rancho Santa Fe. I was coming down the fire access road as 25+ when the smallish 40-50 lbs cat crossed in front of me into the bushes. I assume it was a small female or juvenile. I even thought it might have been a bobcat but it's tail was too long for that.

Just a couple months back in Prescott, I saw a Bobcat for the 1st time in real life. That was actually very cool...and didn't freak me out like the mountain lion sightings.

Far more common than mountain lions are people who can't distinguish a mountain lion from a big bobcat. I've witnessed that first hand when a riding buddy said "look a mountain lion" and I had to reply "WTF, that's just a bobcat!!!"

For years I've not seen a mountain lion even though I do a lot of night riding in Coe. But last year it clicked and I saw 3 since. A friend and I saw a real monster in Downieville. We came around a corner and it was already on the run, but could have been a 200lbs male.

Don't know if it was marking its territory, but there was a very strong smell. The other buddies who came later and didn't see the lion thought we shit our pants.

I probably would have, if it would've give us a stare down, but as it was already running away it was just exciting.

Far more common than mountain lions are people who can't distinguish a mountain lion from a big bobcat. I've witnessed that first hand when a riding buddy said "look a mountain lion" and I had to reply "WTF, that's just a bobcat!!!"

For years I've not seen a mountain lion even though I do a lot of night riding in Coe. But last year it clicked and I saw 3 since. A friend and I saw a real monster in Downieville. We came around a corner and it was already on the run, but could have been a 200lbs male.

Don't know if it was marking its territory, but there was a very strong smell. The other buddies who came later and didn't see the lion thought we shit our pants.

I probably would have, if it would've give us a stare down, but as it was already running away it was just exciting.

I've seen 2 (one of them twice, I think). Luckily, I am a New England transplant out here, and didn't realize these were so dangerous at the time -> didn't have the foresight to panic-escalate any of these.

Lion 1. 1998 - Riding on Arastradero Rd (from Page Mill, heading toward Alpine) at dusk. Getting toward the top of that steep hill section and see the silhouette* of a biggish dog with a huge tail just slowly crossing the road (from the horse farm side). As I get closer, it turns a bit more toward me and the silhoutte seems almost gruesome as *this dog doesn't seem to have a neck or head* -> That was my first impression of a dimly backlit Mt. Lion from about 100' at this point. Then I saw the head, and was glad to have seen my first Mt. Lion, and was glad it was safely of the road when I passed. Because cars. I'm sure I said hello as I do to most unusual animals.

Lion 2. 2013 - Riding the single track (Ridge Trail?) that connects Rapley Ranch Rd. to Russian Ridge. Just after leaving the road/hitting the superdriveway, the singletrack heads off to the right into some trees with a series of curves. Coming around the last curve the trail straightens out and I skid to a stop face to face with a Mt. Lion heading north on the same trail about 15' ahead.

I didn't panic *at all* as I knew (from making it up) that I just had to make myself appear bigger and more intimidating to win the standoff. Stood straight up, shoulders back, and started to firmly tell this apex predator that I had to get through there. It listened for a few seconds, and disinterestedly turned and casually took a few steps and a HUGE bound out of sight/up the hill.

When it first turned, I saw its tail in all its glory. Really wasn't expecting that as I was staring straight at it for a bit/not seeing a tail at all. Was stunning.

At this point, I still don't understand how deadly these things can be, but I know it is presently somewhere on the ridge above/behind me. That is where nature overtakes lessons learned from "Guy on a Buffalo", and I start to panic, but there is really nothing I can think to do but keep moving. HUGE sigh of relief as I roll up to a shepherd's camp a couple miles later. Don't know what those sheep would have done for me, but the panic went away as quick as it arrived, with just as little thought on my part.

I now know that I was lucky to have met a not hungry cougar, and I think it must have helped that I didn't know to be afraid of it/couldn't assume my role as prey. I now believe one of the following is also true:
a. It was my first time seeing the lion, but it had seen me there dozens of times, and was just checking on the progress of its future quarry. Weight loss was good but had a way to go (they prefer leaner, more deer-like prey), and brining via Nuun & Clif Shots was progressing nicely. I just wasn't quite ready.
b. It actually *was* my day to get eaten, but I had recently switched from 26" HT to 29" FS -> that made me a larger animal and confused the beast. I was now off the menu. 27.5? Who knows..

Lion 2+. 2013, 2 days later - Yup, had to get my training rides in and went up to the same trail/spot I met the lion thinking, "What are the chances?". This time, I came across it sooner, among the trees just off the superdriveway.

I'm not positive this was a lion, my lion, or ???. All I saw was a tan blur from as far down the ravine as I could see, to as far up the ridge as I could see, in no time flat. Super fast, pretty big, fluid motion (nor like a deer), silent. All I could do was be impressed. I was, I knew it was on the ridge above me (again), but somehow the panic didn't happen this time. Maybe we're buddies?

That's 3 strikes for Darwin, but that last one could have been a foul-tip (can't 100% confirm lion), so here's a bonus story about how I acted appropriately when I came across that other animal that spawns threads here: rattlesnake.

Riding along some flat singletrack at Arastradero, I came upon a big rattler that was stretched out across the trail. No chance to go around at this point. Could have tried to bunnyhop, but instead decided to panic-endo right where I saw that snake.

Go down hard on my shoulder, skid a bit, start squealing like a pig before I come to a stop. Hop up (adrenaline) still screaming (this part was easy), and turn around to see that there is an angry coiled rattler under the front wheel of my new bike. I don't remember how I got it back from him, I was just focused on whether or not it bit me when I jumped on him. Pain was severe, but that's expected, but the bruising was really strange and that freaked me out. Anyway, somehow got the bike back, bruising remained strange for several days, but I got home safely.

3rd strike for Darwin, but I've got to start playing better.

* Somehow I typed that, and spell check didn't arque, so I'm having a great day!

They say that if you ever see a mountain lion, the mountain lion has seen you a hundred times already. Mountain lion attacks are extremely rare though. Have much higher chance of getting hit by a car road biking.

Post-ride, mid-afternoon, drinking beers at the campsite nearest the bridge.

Mountain lion come out onto the bridge. We're maybe 30 or yards away. We were looking at him, he was looking at us. It was a bit surreal. We're joking about he can quickly get us, but somehow we're not worried.

They say that if you ever see a mountain lion, the mountain lion has seen you a hundred times already. Mountain lion attacks are extremely rare though. Have much higher chance of getting hit by a car road biking.

I live in Southern California and have been a solo night rider for over 21 years. In that time I have physically seen 3 grown Mountain Lions and one cub.

1st sighting - 1998 - Sycamore Canyon Trail near Newbury Park. Bottom of the canyon. She was sitting in the trail blocking my way home. She didn't seem interested in me so after a few minutes I rode towards her with my hands waving and yelling to get her to move. (I was a lot younger and dumber back then). She got up but only slowly walked down the trail a bit before turning around and facing me. At that point I got off my bike and waited calmly. Eventually she jumped into the brush. I rode like hell past that spot thinking at any minute she'd be on my back. All was ok.

2nd sighting - 2003, also in Sycamore Canyon area, but higher up the walls of the canyon, I believe it was Coyote Trail. As I was descending down, she jumped onto the trail in front of me, ran a few yards, then jump back into the brush.

3rd sighting - 2015, Happy Camp Regional Park, just North of the Golf course. I was riding the sand wash on my Pugsley and came upon a Mountain lion. I startled this one and she crouched down and seemed very nervous. I watched her for a few minutes then backed away very slowly until I reached the fire road and got the hell out of there.

4th sighting Ė 2016 Ė Again in Sycamore Canyon Ė Saw a young cub sitting in an oak tree. She was clearly lit up by my headlamp. I was excited until I realized Mommy might be around. Intense fear set in and I rode out of there as fast as I could.

Redding Ca. city limits about 10 years ago....I was riding up the canyon below the Mercy Hospital parking lot. I heard a noise in the brush about 30 feet up above on the hillside. I looked up and noticed a deer that had risen up from the grass that it was laying in, on the hillside under an oak tree.

And then I saw the mountain lion......It was on the hillside above the deer, slinking its way down for a surprise attack on the deer. I will never forget seeing the black tip of the tail waving back and forth almost like it was using its tail to balance itself! I got the heck out of there and never rode through there again!

They say that if you ever see a mountain lion, the mountain lion has seen you a hundred times already. Mountain lion attacks are extremely rare though. Have much higher chance of getting hit by a car road biking.

The only close-up encounter I've had was hiking the local Chutes trail with a buddy when we got to Goldcamp Road. Been a few years, 2 or more.

There just to our right 15 yards along the road and steep rising terrain was a mountian lion.
Gary immediatly took in the sight and began walking toward it as if we were in a zoo and it's beauty was to be enjoyed closer.
Not sure if he'd have continued but I grabbed the shoulder of his shirt and tugged him back to reality. The animal watched closely but sauntered up the steep grade ever watching us.
I was even more concerned about an attack from above. We moved ourselves along out of there and kept alert.

Good gosh, seeing these vids and speeds they cover ground riles me up. I hope the local population is well nourished.

In the Middle Ages, the biggest mistake was not putting on your armor because you were 'just going down to the corner.'

EMT in Santa Cruz, dusk, flat top section, a few years ago now. Came around one of the corners and he/she was running the other direction. NOT a bobcat - very long tail although otherwise seemed smaller. I know there's at least one that has territory in my neighborhood (multiple sightings) but I've not seen her.

The odd thing about my encounter was that I heard her/him purring. I knew big cats burred, but this was the loudest, rattle-ist purr I've ever heard.

I was climbing Oat Hill Mine road. I was in a pretty technical section and I popped out of my right pedal. I decided that was a good place to catch my breath and grab a swig of water. That's when I heard the purr. I took that as a good sign and that I wasn't on the menu.

When I saw her/him, I picked up my bike and held it out in front of me and shook it. All the noises scared it off. But it wasn't more than 20 feet from me and slightly behind a bush.

The worst part is that I had to come right back by that spot in about 45 minutes.

Last edited by chuckha62; 05-25-2018 at 11:08 AM.

You're entitled to your own opinion, but you're not entitled to your own facts.

Iíve seen two with one a week ago while climbing up the paved section of Clementine Road in Auburn. It was a medium sized mountain lion and it ran across the road 50 yards ahead of me. It jumped about 20í up the right embankment in one big leap! So powerful....

Was this on a Tues or Thurs a few weeks ago, late afternoon? I was also climbing up Clem and saw probably the same lion. It was in the bushes walking away from the road. I thought it was a deer, but saw the long tail.

I live in the Santa Cruz mtns. All three I have seen were from the safety of my car, and the tail is the give-away (and the radio-transmitter collars most seem to have around here). In one case it was an adult with a juvenile. Sightings are not frequent, but we hear them around the house fairly frequently, and there is plenty of evidence. They like to rip the kidneys out of the deer.

Haven't seen one on the bike (I have seen a couple of bobcats and lots of coyotes) but I was driving home at night and a mountain lion was standing in my neighbor's driveway. I stopped the car, it turned around and looked at me for a second before taking off down the street in the direction of my house. By the time I got there it was gone. I had my deaf 13 year old dog in the car, got her inside quickly and kept the doors shut for a while.

I'm in the EB and ride Briones almost daily. I've seen 3, one on Mt.Diablo on a road ride and two in Briones. On an early morning Diablo ride I was climbing the north side prior to the junction and about 30 yards ahead it ran across the road and down a ravine.

About 10 yrs ago on Mott Peak in Briones just after sunset a smaller one was just sauntering along on a neighboring hill, oddly there were several cows grazing on the same hill, it just walked passed them.

Dec. 2016 just prior to dark I was riding up Old Briones Rd. in the park and felt that feeling I was being watched. I heard a noise behind me and around the corner comes a college kid I know. He stopped and I told him I thought he was stalking me and scared me for a minute. He said he thought something was following him as well so we agreeded to ride together since the sun had already dropped. We rolled about 5 feet and about 30 yards up the trail under an Oak was a fairly large cat just looking at us. I said something out loud like Crap and then it took a step and took off down a ravine.

The tail is the giveaway, its like a rudder when they run, at least that's what it looked like.

IDK if this is a Bobcat or Mtn Lion - maybe others can tell? I snapped the pic Sep 28, 2017 shortly after sunrise in the Meadow (at the lowest edge of the property) at UCSC. Just by chance I chose to stop and shed a layer and saw it crossing my path. Yep, grainy photos - cat is to the left of the fence post in one shot.

In that same week, I had a bobcat cross my trail at Wilder and a coyote do the same on Arroyo Seco pathway - always right after sunrise.

Seen 3. First one was while driving east after dark on Oak Run Rd., (east of Redding). Saw what I thought were 2 deer crossing the road in front of me. Turned out the 2nd deer was a (big) lion.
Next was out at Whiskeytown, on Peltier Valley road. Saw what I thought was a blond log standing up until it walked away. We rode on down to where we saw it and looked up & around at the ridge. Turned out it was in a patch of grapes about 10 feet away right in front of us. I probably went 2 feet straight up. We walked away to about 50 feet distant and watched it for maybe 20 minutes. It was a young one and just doing cat stuff, rubbing it's face and looking at us. We finally left. After seeing how close I was to it and didn't see it even though I was looking, I wonder how many I've ridden right by, and never noticed them.
The 3rd one was on the Pacific Crest Trail, near the McCloud River. Came around a corner and there was this thing on the trail in front of me. Took my brain a few seconds to realize "Mountain Lion!". About then it saw me and took off. It covered a couple hundred yards of rough terrain in seconds and was gone. I kept my Schnauzer close by for the next mile or so. People ask me if I carry a gun in the woods and after seeing that one move out, there's no point. Even if you had your gun out and ready, I don't see how you could ever get a bead on a lion. It was incredibly fast. Besides, they attack from the back so I figure if I see one, they aren't in attack mode.

Yes, and way too close for comfort. Camping in Butano State forest in 2016 with my dog. Sometime in the middle of the night the dog gets up and starts shaking in the tent. Hmmm what's up, she's staring out the tent wide eyed. So, I go to the mesh part of the tent to see what's up and no joke in the moonlight I see this massive mountain lion head literally 2-feet from the tent, it also left a shadow on the ground and I could make out it's whiskers!, I freaked the F-out and started screaming and banging a pot. I heard some rustling and then about -10 feet away it let's out this wicked hiss, nearly crapped myself.

Usually they are crepuscular (morning/evening), but go figure on full moons they will hunt in the night (something I duly note now when camping). I think my pooch was the intended meal. Needless to say I didn't get much sleep and peed in the tent.....Once that close was enough, but It'd be more comforting to see one from a distance.

Seen a few from a distance from Southern California to here in the Bay Area. The only one that really stuck out was the one that I saw in Alvarado Park, at the end of McBryde St. It was where I would start my rides up into Tilden Park. It stuck out to me because it was casually strolling down a main trail that many hikers, dog walkers, joggers, families take. From a distance as I was riding up the trail and it was strolling down the trail taking in the day. Very relaxed. I thought, "Damn, that dog is dirty as hell! Those are some big ass paws....." That is when I noticed that this, "Dog", was more muscled than Pitbulls I had seen that people had put on steroids. It's head and ears were not the shape of a dog either.

About then is when it dawned on me as it walked by, looking every bit like it knew it should not be walking down the trail, but being about a teenager age wise it was doing what alot teenagers do. Break some rules because they think that rule is stupid.

So I was riding by it and it was walking past me. It sort of had a smile on it's face, (think of a dog with it's mouth open after getting a treat). I could be wrong but it kind of raised it's head like it was saying, "What's up", I nodded back and it went up a hill to my left and was gone.

I did not finish that ride, something told me to turn around and go back so I did. That was the last one I saw, the only one I have seen that got within 3 feet of me. I heard one growling at me as I left a bridge crossing at Lake Chabot, but that one got distracted by the sudden noise of a very boisterous and loud family that had started yelling profanities at each other like they were the only people in the park.

There have been:
∑ 18 verified attacks in California since 1890
∑ 9 deaths in California since 1890
∑ 1 verified attack in the Bay Area in over 100 years
∑ See the list of verified mountain lion attacks in California here.

You are:
∑ 150x more likely to be killed hitting a deer with your car
∑ 300x more likely to be killed by a domestic dog
∑ 500x more likely to drown in your own bathtub
∑ 1000x more likely to die from excessive heat/cold
∑ 2500x more likely to die from an accidental fall
∑ 7000x more likely to die in a vehicle crash

It is more dangerous to walk the streets in any U.S. city at night than it is to live and hike in mountain lion country.

I live in Southern California and have been a solo night rider for over 21 years. In that time I have physically seen 3 grown Mountain Lions and one cub.

1st sighting - 1998 - Sycamore Canyon Trail near Newbury Park. Bottom of the canyon. She was sitting in the trail blocking my way home. She didn't seem interested in me so after a few minutes I rode towards her with my hands waving and yelling to get her to move. (I was a lot younger and dumber back then). She got up but only slowly walked down the trail a bit before turning around and facing me. At that point I got off my bike and waited calmly. Eventually she jumped into the brush. I rode like hell past that spot thinking at any minute she'd be on my back. All was ok.

2nd sighting - 2003, also in Sycamore Canyon area, but higher up the walls of the canyon, I believe it was Coyote Trail. As I was descending down, she jumped onto the trail in front of me, ran a few yards, then jump back into the brush.

3rd sighting - 2015, Happy Camp Regional Park, just North of the Golf course. I was riding the sand wash on my Pugsley and came upon a Mountain lion. I startled this one and she crouched down and seemed very nervous. I watched her for a few minutes then backed away very slowly until I reached the fire road and got the hell out of there.

4th sighting Ė 2016 Ė Again in Sycamore Canyon Ė Saw a young cub sitting in an oak tree. She was clearly lit up by my headlamp. I was excited until I realized Mommy might be around. Intense fear set in and I rode out of there as fast as I could.

Quite frightening. Riding at night brings up the fear to another level with those encounters.

Yes, and way too close for comfort. Camping in Butano State forest in 2016 with my dog. Sometime in the middle of the night the dog gets up and starts shaking in the tent. Hmmm what's up, she's staring out the tent wide eyed. So, I go to the mesh part of the tent to see what's up and no joke in the moonlight I see this massive mountain lion head literally 2-feet from the tent, it also left a shadow on the ground and I could make out it's whiskers!, I freaked the F-out and started screaming and banging a pot. I heard some rustling and then about -10 feet away it let's out this wicked hiss, nearly crapped myself.

Usually they are crepuscular (morning/evening), but go figure on full moons they will hunt in the night (something I duly note now when camping). I think my pooch was the intended meal. Needless to say I didn't get much sleep and peed in the tent.....Once that close was enough, but It'd be more comforting to see one from a distance.

Cheers

Freaky. This is why I like to sleep in my car camping. Tents seem more vulnerable.

I saw one about 15 years ago on a night ride on dirt Mulholland in L.A. It ran on the edge of the road and then ran off into the brush on the valley side. Probably a 5 to 7 second sighting. I spent the rest of the ride looking over my shoulder, happy I saw one , but spooked for sure. The most amazing thing was how everyone I told was in denial and said I saw a bobcat or a coyote. Seriously?

On Mt. Diablo in the East Bay I was riding some singletrack and almost hit a deer. I stopped and looked around and a mountain lion ran right by me up the steepest hill ever going about 20 mph. Just like dirtmistress nobody believed me, and I spent the rest of the ride and a few rides after that paranoid about mountain lions.

On Mt. Diablo in the East Bay I was riding some singletrack and almost hit a deer. I stopped and looked around and a mountain lion ran right by me up the steepest hill ever going about 20 mph. Just like dirtmistress nobody believed me, and I spent the rest of the ride and a few rides after that paranoid about mountain lions.

I believe you man. The most likely up close encounter with a mountain lion is during a chase of their prey, aka deer. This is when they are absolutely locked in ant everything else (including the feared human) is zoned out.